Marion County sheriff aides Sumter effort to avoid lynching

Saturday

Jun 22, 2013 at 12:01 AM

Ocala was buzzing in April 1902 when it was learned that an anticipated lynching in Sumter County had not taken place, although a great many men had shown up carrying “repeating rifles” when an accused murderer was brought before the circuit court judge.

By David CookColumnist

Ocala was buzzing in April 1902 when it was learned that an anticipated lynching in Sumter County had not taken place, although a great many men had shown up carrying “repeating rifles” when an accused murderer was brought before the circuit court judge. The Ocala Star reported that some 300 men armed with rifles were spotted at the courthouse when a black man named Henry Wilson was brought before the court. This story followed an earlier report that a large crowd was waiting a day earlier at Sumterville for the defendant to be delivered from a Tampa jail but was disappointed when it was discovered he was not on the train from Tampa. The lynching plot apparently was known to the Sumter County Sheriff, so he asked Sheriff Nugent of Marion County to take Wilson to the Ocala jail on another train and later transport him to Sumterville.The plan was successful, and Wilson was kept alive to face trial for murder.The murder charge stemmed from an attempt by Wilson to escape from the Sumterville jail some time earlier. In the ensuing fracas, Wilson was said to have shot Lee Graham to death. Wilson was recaptured and taken to Tampa when it was apparent there might be a lynching attempt. The Star later ran a brief notice that its story about the armed men at the courthouse was in error. The report came from witnesses who were “somewhat excited,” the Star said. There was no question, however, that a rather large crowd was on hand.

Then, there was the report in the Star that Belleview’s leading temperance man, Dr. Mixler, had received a bottle of whiskey from an Ocala patient by way of Railway Express. Belleview supporters claimed Mixler was indignant and outraged, and he returned the bottle immediately by express. But that wasn’t the end of the story. The Star claimed “the social, commercial and professional world” of Belleview was “stirred to its deepest depth” by the incident. The editor’s tongue apparently was planted firmly in his cheek. The Ocalan who had sent the whiskey in the first place turned right around and sent the charges back to the doctor. It turned out the doctor had been receiving such packages regularly from Ocala, but that was not public knowledge. The doctor was expected to pay up, as he had in the past, or at least pay the express charges.

The doctor blamed the Belleview express agent for publicly embarrassing him and bringing his credentials as a prohibitionist into question. Statements by the express agents were “a deliberate, demnable lie,” he declared, and he would meet the agent on the field of honor at any time. That wasn’t the end of it. Another report claimed that a well-known store in Belleview — not for its temperance stand — was ordering whiskey from Ocala routinely for its patrons. The store owner called the report “mean, despicable, prejudiced … designed to injure the firm’s standing in the temperance community” of Belleview. Ordering whiskey from the Carmichael distillery in Ocala was common. At the time, Carmichael was shipping alcoholic beverages all over the Southeast, mostly in case lots. Included among its numerous alcoholic products was Kentucky bourbon, made in Ocala. The Belleview incidents were passed off as April Fools jokes. Editor C.L. Bittinger of the Star didn’t buy that argument. There was a belief that an annexation fight going on in Belleview in April 1902 was behind the whole thing.

Still another old Confederate warhorse from the Civil War era, who originally came to Marion County from South Carolina, died in August 1902 at his farm five miles north of Ocala after a long painful illness. He was Captain James H. Johnson.He was a former practicing lawyer, known for his fiery speeches, particularly on such occasions as the Fourth of July. He came to Ocala in 1856 and formed a law partnership with St. George Rogers. With the outbreak of the Civil War, both men joined the Confederate army in 1861.Johnson enlisted in the Second Florida regiment as a lieutenant but soon was elected as a captain. He returned home at the close of the war and settled on his farm north of Ocala. He felt an outdoor life suited him better than a law office. The Star called him “one of the most successful tillers of the soil that Marion County ever possessed.” He was buried in the old Ocala cemetery, Evergreen, off North Magnolia Avenue. He left behind his third wife and six children.

Residents of Ocala were becoming more comfortable with the electric power that was being generated by the city in 1902. The streets were being illuminated by electric lights, and more businesses were having electricity installed. Kerosene lamps were still widely used, and some people felt gas was cheaper to use for illumination than the city’s electric power. Overall, however, the convenience of electricity was beginning to win out as more people lost their fear of it. The Star mounted a campaign for the city to build a new power-generating plant to meet the growing demand.It was a campaign that would take a good while to make inroads on prejudices against city government becoming more involved in furnishing electric power. The city council was on the verge of building a plant on several occasions, even to the point of identifying a location off North Main Street, but every effort was still being stalled by the opposition. An avid Marion County historian, David Cook is a retired editor of the Star-Banner. He may be contacted at 237-2535.